Highland Homespun

Author: Margaret Leigh

Northern Scotland, Highlands & Islands

Published on 16 April 2026 by Birlinn General (Origin) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 304 pages
129 x 197 x 25 | 266g

In May 1933 Margaret Leigh took over the tenancy of Achnabo farm, in a beautiful corner of the West Highlands overlooking the isle of Skye.

In this unsentimental yet exquisitely written book, she recounts a year of farming life there, from the burning of the land and ploughing in March, through planting and sowing in April to haymaking and harvesting in September. Incidental details – such as a visit to the smithy, the arrival of some new bulls and the annual journey of the cows to the summer shielings – provide fascinating insights into farming life.

Local characters and customs feature too, adding another rich dimension to this reflective and poignant memoir of a world now vanished forever.